Spirit Airlines’ worth, Tesla’s miss, and drug hikes: Business news roundup

Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in November, has given investors a peek into its ongoing reorganization. As part of that process, it filed a financial update with the Securities and Exchange Commission that shows its equity is worth less than the compensation paid to its executives in 2023.

A plane carrying 181 people, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea after skidding off the runway and colliding with a wall, resulting in an explosion.

Two additional flights nearly ended in tragedy over the weekend as South Korea grapples with its worst plane crash in decades.

On Saturday, an Air Canada (AC) flight experienced what the airlines called a “suspected landing gear issue” when it arrived at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia. Flight AC2259, a Bombardier Q400 plane carrying 73 passengers, was arriving from St. John’s, Newfoundland.

A customer walks towards the entrance of a Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

Casual dining in 2024 has been dramatically reshaped by inflation, shifting consumer priorities, and fierce competition among fast-food giants and grocery stores alike.

Tesla (TSLA) has officially failed to reach its 2024 delivery goal, according to the latest sales data released by the electric vehicle maker.

Austin, Texas-based Tesla delivered 495,570 vehicles between October and December, a roughly 2% hike compared to 484,507 units delivered during the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the company. Wall Street had expected deliveries of about 507,000 units.

Costco’s (COST) Board of Trustees is standing firm as many of the biggest companies in the U.S. scale back or scrap their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The global airline industry flies billions of people around the world every year and rakes in even more billions of dollars doing so. In fact, the sector expects to bring in a record $1 trillion in revenue next year. Some companies will grab bigger slices of that pie than others, however. Quartz analyzed the annual reports of the world’s biggest airlines to see how they stack up against one another.

Woman holding open prescription pill bottle.

Pharmaceutical companies are raising the price of over 250 brand drugs this year.

Nearly all the price increases are under 10%, with the median increase across all the affected medications being 4.5%, matching the median increase last year, Reuters reported Thursday, citing data from healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.

Shoppers at a Walmart Supercenter in Burbank, California on Nov. 21, 2024.

Ever since Mike Whitaker, current administration of the Federal Aviation Administration, announced that he would be stepping down when president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, speculation has swirled around who Trump’s pick to replace him might be. The airline industry site View from the Wing suggests that JSX CEO Alex Wilcox might be a name to watch.

Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary, with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 16.

Since winning the election on Nov. 5, Donald Trump has moved remarkably, if not unexpectedly, quickly to name his picks for top leadership posts in his administration. While Trump’s campaign rhetoric suggested a strong America-first, strong-dollar, tariff-led protectionist trade policy with low taxes and lower government spending at home, his picks are presenting a picture of an administration that may be more moderate, and may be fiercely at odds with itself.